Think of moving to Florida after graduation, is it as bad as they say???

U.S.A. Florida

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I will be graduating with my BSN and really want to move to Florida (preferably the Orlando or West Palm beach area). I have done tons of research and I am wondering would it be best for me to secure a job and move down, or stay in my home state for a year or two after I graduate to get experince and save money? I have heard many things about the job market and people having problems finding jobs, but the people who have received jobs usually have their BSN, which I will have. I have seen starting pay range from 22~25 starting, but would like more first hand opinions on pay and what I would be able to afford as far as living conditions.

Yes if anyone have any info about upcoming job fairs can you please share?

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BSN is required by a lot of hospitals in FL now. It's not easy to get a FL job even with a BSN. Look out before you take a job: the hospital I did clinicals at overstaffs, and it seems like a dangerous situation. I'm talking ICU nurses with 3 patients each, plus a charge nurse with 2-3 patients so you have no help. Med-Surg floors with 7-8 patients, some of them total care/trach/comatose, very high acuity. I won't work at my hospital if it paid $100,000 a year, it's too dangerous. Plus, they require 2 year contracts because no one wants to stay in such horrid conditions, so they have to force the nurses to stick around. (That's not just new nurses, many experienced nurses have to sign 2 year long contracts!) Oh, and forget about a tech to help you, they each have 19-30 patients. No kidding! And all this for the sky-high salary of $21 an hour. Ask about staffing and see if you can shadow so you don't end up at a place like mine. I've heard public, not-for-profits are better than the private, corporate ones (mine's corporate: owned by the company Governor Scott used to run. They owned it for a year, squeezed every penny out of it, and then flipped it for a profit. Yeah, I've heard of house flipping, in FL they have hospital-flipping!)

I really don't recommend coming to FL, but it you really have to, go to a public hospital.

It's not true that you need to speak Spanish (except maybe in Miami and its suburbs), but a lot of jobs do say bilingual preferred so your odds are better if you speak Spanish or Haitian-Creole.

Thanks for the info! This isn't a side I have heard so thanks for the info. I was wondering is this the same for their nursing homes?

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You're welcome. I don't know anything about nursing homes. I'm moving far, far away from FL... Good luck to those who want to come here, I hope your experience will be better than mine.

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

I used to live in FL, moved back up north to attend nursing school and work there. I wouldn't even travel nurse in FL to be honest. The sun is nice and all but not interested in slicing my pay by half. And no, the cost of living is not that much cheaper. Housing maybe but gas and food is almost on par with the north in some places, especially South Florida. And money is not the only reason I would not return to FL to work ... I volunteered at a hospital there, and I prefer a faster pace, the one I grew accustomed to growing up in the north.

Sent from my iPad using allnurses

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I graduated from UM with a BSN. Looked for a job and even had contacts in the hospitals. Moved out of state to get experience and plan on coming back soon.

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I graduated from UM with a BSN. Looked for a job and even had contacts in the hospitals. Moved out of state to get experience and plan on coming back soon.

Clarification: moved out of state because I could not find a job in FL even with all my contacts.

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Many of the jobs I saw posted in Florida required a BSN and two years of experience. My peers always speak about how their family member works at this hospital or they have friends at that hospital "that can get me a job" and these statements are not entirely accurate. :no: I think it all depends on the power of your application and resume without having any experience. I am an inexperienced nurse and asked my interviewer why they chose to call me for an interview. They replied that my resume was very organized and they "liked the tone". :woot: This surprised me, despite having so many declining emails. Keep applying and have faith! I have faith that my experience here up north will prepare me to land that BSN job in Florida in about two years!

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